Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
Playing the Boys Game: Golf Buddies and Board Diversity
By SUMIT AGARWAL, WENLAN QIAN, DAVID M. REEB, AND TIEN FOO SING *
Abstract: We study the participation of women in golf, a predominately male social
activity, and its influence on their likelihood of serving on a board of directors.
Exploiting a novel dataset of all golfers in Singapore, we find that woman golfers enjoy a
54% higher likelihood of serving on a board relative to male golfers. A woman’s
probability of serving on the board in a large firm or in a predominately male industry
increases by 117% to 125% when she plays golf. Joining the boy’s informal network
appears to facilitate women’s entrance or success in the executive labor market.
Women’s share of board seats in developed
Unsurprisingly, gender norms and social
economies averaged 16.7% in 2014, varying
identity influence the assembly and duration
from 3% in Japan to 19% in the US and 30%
of social networks (Lewis et al., 2012;
in France (Catalyst, 2015). Although a stream
McPherson et al., 2001). For instance, in
of studies demonstrates performance benefits
sports - a common social activity, gender
from boards comprised of both men and
stereotype influences the involvement of
women
women by type and participation rates within
(Adams
and
Ferreira,
2009),
alleviating gender disparity proves difficult to
the
achieve. Female director nominations often
Reinforcing the gender disparity issues,
arise from government regulation or from
women comprise less than 9.7% of sports
shareholder
by
editors in the Associated Press and less than
institutional investors (Anderson et al., 2011;
2% of sports radio hosts (Women’s Media
Bertrand et al., 2014). Despite these external
Center, 2014). Yet, sport groups constitute one
calls for greater female representation on the
of the most prevalent types of social networks
board, we have limited information on the
among adults (Putnam, 1995).
resolutions
introduced
sports
(Eccles
and
Harold,
1991).
impediments to their participation or the
We explore the role of informal networks
mechanisms women use to overcome these
and gender ceiling in the executive labor
frictions in the executive labor market.
market using data on golf games. Specifically,
Research
capital
we study whether women who play golf - a
influences placement and earnings in the labor
largely male-dominated sport – are also more
market
indicates
(Simon
and
that
social
Warner,
1992).
* National University of Singapore, 15 Kent Ridge Drive, Singapore, 119245 (e-mail: [email protected]). We are grateful to
Souphala Chomsisengphet, Carola Frydman (discussant), Amit Seru and seminar participants at the AEA meetings.
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
likely to serve on the board of directors of
boards. Overall, cogent arguments exist that
publicly-listed companies.
women’s participation in golf could either
Anecdotally, golf is an important social
network tool in corporate America. One
hinder or increase the likelihood of them
serving on a board of directors.
perspective is that golf outings reinforce male
I. Data and Statistics
social networks and bonding, limiting their
usefulness for female golf players. Mayer and
We use the setting of Singapore to
Puller (2008) report that social networks often
investigate the role of male-oriented informal
operate along gender lines and serve to
networks on women’s entrance or success in
emphasize gender identity. Heilman et al.
the board of director market. Singapore
(2004) find that women involved in male-
provides an especially interesting venue to
dominated activities are often penalized in
evaluate which frictions limit women’s access
their career outcomes. Because golf is a social
to top positions due to its high GDP per
activity with substantial male participation,
capita, low fertility rates, high female
involvement in this predominately male
workforce
activity could limit a woman’s opportunities
educational opportunities (Agarwal and Qian,
in the executive labor market.
2014).1 To examine the relationship between
participation,
and
widespread
Alternatively, female participation in golf
women’s participation in golf and their
may allow women to enter prominent social
likelihood of serving on a board of directors,
networks and increase their involvement in the
we use information from Datastream for listed
labor market. Female executives reap career
firms on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) from
benefits from sports participation in general
2000 to 2014. We restrict our sample to listed
(Ernest and Young, 2014), suggesting that
firms that derive earnings from operation in
golf may provide a similar social capital for
Singapore. For these 431 Singapore-based
both men and women. Moreover, women
firms, we manually collect information on
engaging in a predominately male activity
boards of directors (name and gender) from
might gain additional social capital relative to
annual reports. Table 1 provides descriptive
their male counterparts. This perspective
statistics.
suggests that women participating in the boy’s
informal
network
could
increase
their
acceptance by predominantly male corporate
1
More broadly, our work relates to the literature on gender
differences across various economic outcomes and possible
determinants, including communism, culture, discrimination,
economic power, socio-economic status, and testosterone (Bertrand et
al., 2015; Gneezy et al., 2009; Guiso et al, 2008; Reeb et al., 2016).
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
We match the databases on the board of
TABLE 1 - SUMMARY STATISTICS
Market cap (in mils)
Mean
775.4
Median
765.9
Market to book
1.56
1.52
0.31
Assets
2,157
2,164
413
# of directors
7.06
6.95
0.26
Female (%)
8.07
7.85
0.87
Non-Chinese (%)
11.21
11.32
0.60
N
directors and the golf participants, along with
Std. Dev.
147.0
the demographic details for the directors/golf
players. We further restrict the analysis to
individuals with ages between 30 and 75 in
order to capture valid counterfactuals. We
obtain a comprehensive sample of 1,472,462
431
Based on the time series average of the year-end firm characteristics
from 2000-2014.
Singaporean residents that contains 10,584
golfers and 1,646 directors. We compute the
A typical firm has, on average, a market
unconditional
odds
ratio
to
study
the
capitalization of S$775.42 million, an asset
association between playing golf and serving
size of S$2,157.41 million, and a market-to-
on corporate boards. We find the odds ratio of
book ratio of 1.56. Among the firms, on
65.3, indicating that playing golf is strongly
average, there are 7 members on the board of
associated with serving on corporate boards.
directors, of which 8.07% are women and
For the matched board of directors, 155
11.21% are from minority ethnic groups (i.e.,
(9.4%) are female and 1,491 (90.6%) are
non-Chinese). We also obtain data from two
male. Using these numbers, we compute the
other sources, which contain information on
odds ratio by gender and board membership at
golf players, and demographic details of all
0.094, suggesting that on average, females are
Singapore residents. Singapore golf courses
90% less likely to serve on the boards of
require all players to possess and present a
directors in our sample. We observe a strong
current
association
handicap
card
to
play
golf;
between
playing
golf
and
consequently the data captures the entire golf
corporate board membership for men (odds
playing population. In the golf database, we
ratio = 38.9), but the magnitude is smaller
observe the player’s name, gender, and
than found for women. When comparing the
registration date. In the golf data over 88% of
odds ratios by gender, the results suggest that
golfers are male. The demographic data
playing golf is associated with a stronger
contains information on birthdate, gender,
propensity to serving on corporate boards for
home address, and ethnicity of Singaporean
women than for men. Thus, the odds ratio
residents.
indicates that female golfers exhibit a 54%
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
greater chance than their male counterparts of
and the effect is statistically significant at the
serving on a board of directors.
1% level. We also find that playing golf is
II. Multivariate Analysis and Results
statistically and economically significant in
predicting the likelihood of serving on
To control for observable differences in
corporate boards for both genders. More
demographics, we run multivariate logistic
interestingly, the interaction between ‘female’
regressions with a binary dependent variable
and ‘golfer’ is also large and statistically
that is equal to one, if an individual serves on
significant. To interpret the results, this
a corporate board of listed firms in Singapore,
suggests that relative to the effect of male
and zero otherwise. The key explanatory
golfers, women who play golf are 74% more
variables include a female dummy, a golf-
likely to serve on corporate boards. The effect
player dummy, and an interaction of the two
is statistically significant at the 10% level.
dummy variables. We include the year of birth
To further explore whether the women-
and a non-Chinese binary variable to control
golfer effect stems from either general wealth
for heterogeneity in age and ethnicity.
or social capital effects, we split the sample
Location and type (public versus private) of
into small and large firms. If wealth effects
houses are strongly correlated with wealth
explain the women in golf results, then the
(Deng et al., 2012). We control for variations
impact should be greater in small firms
in house price by including the postal code
relative to large firms. In contrast, if social
fixed effects in the model (Agarwal and Qian,
capital explains these findings, then the effect
2016).2
should
Table 2 reports the odds ratio estimates for
the logistic regressions. Column 1 shows the
results for the full sample. Consistent with the
univariate analysis, we observe that females,
on average, are 89% less likely to serve on
be
in
large,
TABLE 2 - GOLF AND FEMALE DIRECTORS
VARIABLES
Female
Golf
Another potential concern is that athletic skills drive the results
on female golf participation. In an earlier version of the paper, we
find no significant difference between female directors and nondirectors in terms of their initial or current golf skills
(http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2702742).
pronounced
hierarchical firms.
corporate boards of listed firms in Singapore,
2
more
Female x Golf
(1)
(2)
(3)
All firms
Large
firms
Small
firms
0.110a
0.0983a
0.111a
(-24.49)
(-18.24)
(-18.01)
7.210a
7.787a
6.657b*
(32.95)
(26.83)
(22.98)
1.735c
2.246b
1.327
(1.840)
(2.212)
(0.602)
Controls
YES
YES
YES
Postal Code-
YES
YES
YES
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
use of golf to overcome the corporate glass
Housing Sector
FE
Ps R-square
N
ceiling suggest that the effect should occur in
0.13
0.14
0.11
1,423,142
1,293,599
1,370,369
The dependent variable is a dummy variable equal to 1 if the person
serves on the board of directors. We report the odds ratio estimates
and include t-statistics (based on robust standard errors) below in
parentheses, and a, b, and
c
denote statistical significance at the 1%,
5%, and 10% level.
industries with limited female participation in
the workforce.
In Table 3, we find that women golfers are
more likely to serve on the board of directors
in low female representation industries (by
The results as reported in column 2 of Table
117%) relative to their male counterparts. The
2 show that the women-golfer effect is
effect is statistically significant at the 5%
concentrated in large firms. Female golfers are
level. In contrast, the results indicate that in
125% more likely to serve on a board relative
industries with high female representation, a
to male golfers in large firms with presumably
woman’s
a more hierarchical structure. This effect is
differential effect on the likelihood of her
economically large and statistically significant
holding a board seat relative to her male
at the 5% level. For small firms (column 3 of
counterparts. In summary, the results suggest
Table 2), women’s participation in golf has no
a strong influence of social capital in helping
differential
to overcome the gender ceiling in the
effect,
both
statistically
and
economically, on board membership relative
participation
in
golf
has
no
executive labor market.
to their male counterparts.
An
alternative
differential
effects
explanation
of
for
women’s
TABLE 3 - LOW FEMALE INDUSTRIES
the
golf
VARIABLES
participation on their likelihood of serving on
a board could result from the consumption of
leisure by successful women. To investigate
Female
Golf
this explanation, we split the analysis by the
concentration of female employment shares in
different industries in Singapore. A leisure or
quiet life explanation suggests that the
women’s golf participation effects should
dominate
in
high
female
concentrated
industries. However, arguments regarding the
(1)
(2)
High female
representation
industries
Low female
representation
industries
0.102a
0.101a
(-18.53)
(-19.02)
7.144
a
7.381a
(25.42)
(26.48)
1.708
2.173b
(1.319)
(2.138)
Controls
YES
YES
Postal Code-Housing
YES
YES
Female x Golf
Sector FE
Ps R-square
N
0.13
0.13
1,304,690
1,344,332
The dependent variable is a dummy variable equal to 1 if the person
serves on the board of directors. We report the odds ratio estimates
and include t-statistics (based on robust standard errors) below in
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
parentheses, and a, b, and
c
denote statistical significance at the 1%,
5%, and 10% level.
facilitates women’s appointment to the board
III. Conclusion
or alternatively, that board membership leads
Our analyses suggest that the participation of
women in golf - a predominately male social
activity,
significantly
increases
their
likelihood of serving on a board of directors.
Using a dataset of over 1 million golf games
played in Singapore over a 15-year period, we
find
that
female
golfers
exhibit
a
54% higher likelihood of serving on a board
relative
to
male
golfers.
A
woman’s
probability of serving on the board in large
firms increases by 116% if she plays golf,
while golf has no such effect in small firms.
Perhaps even more surprising is the finding
that the gender-golf effect increases to 158%
for
women
The data support both the notion that golf
in
a
predominantly
indicates that "playing the boys game" is an
important
component
becoming part of the boy’s network increases
a woman’s chance of serving on the board of
directors in large firms in male dominated
industries.
One clear issue that emerges in this analysis
is that golf is an important social network. In a
country with low birth rates, high wages, and
inexpensive access to live-in helpers, we
provide strong correlation evidence suggestive
of an informal network that women use to
of
women’s
directorships in publicly-traded firms. While
this effect occurs in both men and women,
women’s involvement in a male-dominated
social activity appears more pronounced when
they serve on board in large, hierarchal firms
or those in male dominated industries. We
interpret
this
evidence
to
suggest
that
engaging in social activities that run counter to
the social norms or behaviors provide an
important mechanism for women to partially
mitigate the glass ceiling in corporate boards.
REFERENCES
male
industry. In summary, the results suggest that
overcome or deal with gender disparity.
women to play golf. Either perspective
Adams, Renee and Daniel Ferreira, 2009,
“Gender Diversity in the Board Room,”
Journal of Financial Economics 94, 291309.
Agarwal, Sumit and Wenlan Qian, 2014.
Consumption
and
Debt
Response
to
Unanticipated Income Shocks: Evidence
from a Natural Experiment in Singapore,
American Economic Review 104, 42054230.
Agarwal, Sumit and Wenlan Qian, 2016.
Access to home equity and consumption:
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
evidence from a policy experiment, Review
2009. Gender differences in competition:
of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming.
Evidence
Anderson, Ron, David Reeb, Arun Upadhyay,
and Wanli Zhao, 2011. The economics of
director
heterogeneity,
Financial
Management 40:5-38.
from
a
matrilineal
and
a
patriarchal society. Econometrica 77, 1637–
1664.
Guiso,
Luigi,
Ferdinando
Monte,
Paola
Sapienza and Luigi Zingales, 2008. Culture,
Bertrand, Marianne, Sandra Black, Sissel
Jensen, and Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014.
gender, and math. Science 320, 1164-1165.
Heilman, Madeline, Aaron Wallen, Daniella
Breaking the glass ceiling: The effect of
Fuchs
and
Melinda
Tamkins,
2004.
board quotas on female labor market
Penalties for success: Reactions to women
outcomes in Norway, NBER Working Paper
who succeed at male gender-typed tasks.
No 20245.
Journal of Applied Psychology 89, 416-427.
Bertrand, Marianne, Jessica Pan, and Emir
Lewis, Kevin, Marco Gonzalez and Jason
Kamenica, 2015. Gender identity and
Kaufman, 2012. Social selection and peer
relative
households.
influence in an online social network,
Quarterly Journal of Economics 130, 571-
Proceedings of the National Academy of
614.
Sciences 109, 68-72.
income
Catalyst, 2015.
within
Catalyst 2014 Census:
Making the Connection: Women, Sport and
Women Board of Directors. New York:
Leadership, 2014. EY Women Athletes
Catalyst.
Business Network and espnW.
Deng, Yongheng, Daniel McMillen and Tien
Mayer, Adalber and Steven Puller, 2008. The
Foo Sing, 2012. Private residential price
old (and girl) network: Social network
indices in Singapore: A matching approach,
formation on university campuses, Journal
Regional Science and Urban Economics 42,
of Public Economics 92, 329-347.
485-494.
McPherson, Miller, Lynn Smith-Lovin and
Eccles, Jacquelynne and Rena Harold, 1991.
James Cook, 2001, Birds of a feather:
Gender differences in sport involvement:
Homophily in social networks, Annual
Applying the Eccles’ expectancy-value
Review of Sociology 27, 415-444.
model, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
3, 7-35.
Gneezy, Uri, Kenneth Leonard and John List,
Putnam,
Robert,
1995.
Bowling
alone:
America’s declining social capital, Journal
of Democracy 6, 65-78.
Forthcoming American Economic Review P&P
Reeb, David, Elvira Solji and Wing Wah
Tham,
2016.
Locating
the
Innovative
Women, NUS Working Paper.
Simon, Curtis and John Warner, 1992.
Matchmaker, matchmaker: The effect of old
boys networks on Job match quality,
earnings and tenure, Journal of Labor
Economics, 10. 306-30.
Women’s Media Center, 2015. The Status of
Women in the US Media 2014.